CrowdStrike shares jumped 15% and Okta shares surged 20% on Thursday after both companies beat Wall Street’s fiscal second-quarter expectations and raised their forecasts, citing customer spending driven by artificial intelligence adoption and the threat from AI agents (software systems that act autonomously). The wider cybersecurity sector also advanced, with Palo Alto Networks, SailPoint and Rubrik rising about 9%. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the industry is in an arms race as AI drives both more cyberattacks and higher security spending. Okta CEO Todd McKinnon said adoption of the company’s AI tools remains in its early stages, although new products generated nearly a third of total bookings and the company won dozens of AI deals in the second quarter. CrowdStrike and Okta are each up more than 80% this year. Deutsche Bank remains optimistic about the sector but is awaiting upcoming earnings reports to assess near-term demand trends. Bank of America upgraded Okta to neutral from underperform while warning that limited disclosures and early adoption could constrain upside. Jefferies’ Joseph Gallo said cyber spending should benefit from AI anxiety over the next couple of quarters.